This invention relates a sunroof assembly with bus bars molded into front and rear troughs of a sunroof frame to electrically connect a rear mounted drive motor to a vehicle body harness.
Sunroof assemblies are powered by motors to move a window panel between open and closed positions. These motors are typically mounted at either the front or at the rear of the sunroof assembly. The rear mounting configuration requires long and extensive wiring harnesses to connect the motor to a vehicle body harness usually mounted near the front of the sunroof. One disadvantage with these long wiring harness is that tape and clips are needed to attach the harness to the sunroof frame. This type of attachment does often not adequately secure the harness and rattles and other undesirable noises can be generated as the clips or tape loosen. Further, the wires in the harness can be pinched resulting in the motor drive becoming inoperable.
For the above reasons, it would be desirable to provide a system for electrically connecting a rear mounted sunroof drive motor to a vehicle body harness in a secure fashion and in a manner that reduces rattles in addition to overcoming the other above mentioned deficiencies with the prior art.
A sunroof assembly for a passenger vehicle includes a frame member having front and rear troughs interconnected by guide rails. A window panel is supported for movement relative to the frame along the guide rails between open and closed positions. A drive motor provides the power to move the window and a bus bar is molded into at least one of the front and/or rear troughs to electrically connect the motor to a vehicle body harness.
In the preferred embodiment, the motor is mounted adjacent to the rear trough and a rear bus bar is molded within the rear trough and a front bus bar is molded within the front trough. Conductive tape interconnects the front and rear bus bars and preferably extends along at least one of the guide rails. The rear bus bar includes a plurality of wires for connection to the drive motor and the front bus bar includes a plurality of wires for connection to the vehicle body harness positioned near the front of the vehicle. The rear bus bar includes an integrally molded connector for connection to the motor and the front bus bar includes an integrally molded connector for connection to the body harness. The front and rear bus bars also include integrally molded connectors for connection to the conductive tape.
The subject invention provides method and apparatus for electrically connecting a rear mounted drive motor for a sunroof assembly to a vehicle body harness that is secure and reduces noise.
These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specifications and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.